


What Its Worth

by lorichelle



Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-21
Updated: 2013-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-09 03:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/769203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorichelle/pseuds/lorichelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John takes a chance and does something kind for Bane. He did not expect that kindness would be returned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Its Worth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OneWhoSitsWithTurtles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneWhoSitsWithTurtles/gifts).



> Written for Steph :)

Behind the car with his gun at the ready, John and the other officers stood their ground, waiting for someone, anyone to come out of the stock exchange. It was a quiet and intense few moments, until they saw people exiting the building. They held their fire as they noticed it was hostages and then all hell broke loose as the robbers surged through the crowd on their motorbikes and before anyone could react properly, there they went,  and John tried to get a good aim at the one that zoomed by him but they were all too fast.

He was also distracted by something that had fallen out of the jacket of the one that passed by him. His sergeant order him to jump in the car and go after them but before he did, John made a dash and grab for the item before he could think and tossed it in the backseat once he got in the drivers’ seat and took off.

*

Once Batman and his… bat plane took off and his sergeant gave him the cold shoulder, John remembered the item he picked up and went and retrieved it from the backseat. He was completely shocked to find that it was a teddy bear, an old, ratty teddy bear. Now that just didn’t make sense; he actually chuckled at the thought but decided to keep it anyway, stuffing it into his zipped up jacket and headed home.

*

There was no way, just no way.

He was watching the news coverage of the chase last night and apparently it was Bane and his men who took temporary control of the stock exchange. And that meant… that meant this damn stuffed animal had been Bane’s. This time John snorted and fell into deep laughter. But as he spent time with the bear through the day, examining its tattered state, he thought about what this toy meant to someone like Bane. He didn’t know a lot about the mercenary but he knew about sentimentality. Everyone, good and bad, has something of meaning in their lives, no matter what it is. And the more he thought about it, the more he actually felt sorry for Bane.

He knew he shouldn’t, he was a brutal man but this bear represented something in him that must’ve been innocent at some point. And John felt it paramount this should be returned to him; it meant that the core of Bane was not evil but something else. Something told John that Bane needed to have this, who knew, it might one day come back with mercy…

*

He followed Gordon down into sewer where they were taken to Bane and John ignored how attractive and healthy Bane looked, aside from the mask. Bane was a presence and he seemed like an intelligent individual. Crazy, not stupid. They would all do well to remember that.

There was nothing he could do about Gordon, he knew that when the Commissioner escaped into the water that the man would be alright and hopefully someone would find him and get him to safety.

“What do you want to do with this one?” Barsad asked in his accent. Before Bane could answer, John found this the perfect opportunity and waved his hands.

“Wait, wait! I have something!”

Nothing seemed to waive the calm and sureness of the mercenary. Bane nodded at him and slowly, John reached into his jacket and revealed the worn toy and held it out.

“Y-you uh, dropped this, I think,” John inwardly rolled his eyes at himself, good Lord how lame did he sound?

The entire room froze and the energy was tense and very still. John held his breath as Bane’s intense stare switched from him to the bear and back to him. Slowly, Bane reached out for the bear and John could swear he saw a slight tremble in those massive fingers. Bane held the bear with such gentleness and such care that John was completely taken back and he knew that he could no longer see this man in the same way again and he also knew that he had done the right thing.

The deep, mechanical sound of his voice through the mask startled him. “Who are you?”

“Blake, Officer John Blake.” He answered. Bane simply stared at him again for several long moments.

And then, “Take him to the surface.”

*

The explosion at the stadium was such a disaster and all of the city’s cops were trapped underground. The whole situation was dire and John didn’t know where to start in helping out. Bane had announced that one bridge would stay open for supplies but martial law was now in effect. That would make it difficult for Gordon and himself to do much about the situation.

But a surprise came that night, as the sun was going down. Bane had organized his men and they were gathering and leading all of the children and youth out of the city via the one remaining bridge and handed them over to the U.S. Army.

Including the children of St. Smithens.

And John knew in his heart that that was the embodiment of the teddy bear. That one act of kindness that John had showed the man. He had returned the only peace and innocence that Bane possessed and in return, Bane had released and sent all of the innocence of Gotham to safety, to preservation. In these dark times, in this sometimes dark world, innocence will always be taken care of, will always be preserved. And he silently thanked Bane. And now even in the terrible days to come, at least no child would suffer in this war.


End file.
